WASHINGTON
— Apr 28, 2014

Participants will discuss challenges for industry and medical communications professionals

Three sessions at the DIA 2014 50th Annual Meeting, to be held June 15 to 19 in San Diego, will examine the impact of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act on industry research, writing and marketing. The legislation requires manufacturers of medical products to report gifts to physicians and hospitals.

The Sunshine Act started a national registry of gifts to physicians, launched in February 2013, and set guidelines for a uniform reporting structure to increase the transparency of financial relationships. Pharmaceutical companies that do not comply with the guidelines potentially face fines. The first reporting period ended on March 31, 2014.

“Since the Sunshine Act was enacted more than a year ago, many in the industry have raised questions about how to address current processes and institute new practices and policies,” said Barbara L. Kunz, DIA global chief executive. “For those who want to transform their companies, these sessions will provide an unprecedented opportunity to hear from experts working to enhance the process.”

On June 15 at 8:30 a.m., DIA will hold “The Sunshine Act: Understanding the Essentials of Compliance,” a tutorial led by Michael A. Swit, special counsel at Duane Morris LLP. The discussion will explore the Sunshine Act’s requirements, including potential exemptions, examine the act’s unique process to manage research-related payments and provide guidance on how to implement processes to ensure compliance. Students will also learn the process for submitting the required disclosures to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Open Payments database.

Another session, “Our First Year Under Sunshine: Impact on Medical and Scientific Communications,” will be held June 17 at 3:30 p.m., focusing on specific Sunshine Act requirements that affect the industry’s medical communications, medical science liaisons and medical writing departments. Monica Kwarcinski, executive director of medical services for Purdue Pharma L.P., will chair the session, with a presentation by Kathleen Guindon, senior medical science liaison for Genentech.

The Sunshine Act’s long- and short-term impact on industry research and marketing collaborations will be the subject of a third session, “Industry in the Sunshine: How the ‘Sunshine’ Provisions of the Affordable Care Act Will Change Industry Policy and Practice,” on June 18 at 3:30 p.m. Chaired by John F. Kamp, executive director of the Coalition for Healthcare Communication, the session will feature a presentation by David Vulcano, executive for clinical research for the Hospital Corporation of America, examining positive and negative views of the Sunshine Act. Gary Shangold, CEO of InteguRx Therapeutics LLC, will present on the Sunshine Act’s impact on the research profession, and Thomas Patrick Sullivan, president of Rockpointe, will discuss where we have gone and where we are going in navigating the Sunshine Act’s implementation.

ABOUT DIA: DIA is the global connector in the life sciences product development process. Our association of more than 18,000 members builds productive relationships by bringing together regulators, innovators and influencers to exchange knowledge and collaborate in an impartial setting. DIA’s network creates unparalleled opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and has the interdisciplinary experience to prepare for future developments. DIA is an independent, nonprofit organization with its global center in Washington, D.C., USA; regional offices covering North and South America (Horsham, Penn., USA); Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (Basel, Switzerland); and Japan (Tokyo), India (Mumbai) and China (Beijing). For more information, visit www.diahome.org.

ABOUT DIA’s 2014 50th ANNUAL MEETING: Celebrate the Past – Invent the Future is the largest multidisciplinary event that brings together a community of life sciences professionals at all levels and across all disciplines involved in the discovery, development and life cycle management of medical products. The meeting aims to foster innovation that will lead to the development of safe and effective medical products and therapies for patients. For more information, visit www.diahome.org/dia2014.